My phone was stolen in Chicago - got it back within 3 hours! Hah!

I thought you guys might enjoy this true story that happened to me on Tuesday. I'm a detailed writer, so if you can't handle length, I don't know what to tell you...


So, I'm painting a mural scene on the outside of a day care on the north side of Chicago. I've got my ladder fully extended in it's A-frame shape and I'm standing on the very very top rungs (foot straddling each side) painting some lettering. I don't trust ANYone in the city, so every time someone is about to walk by my ladder, I step down a rung so I'm more stable on one side.

I see 2 young teen boys walking in my direction, so I step down a rung and stabilize myself on one side. The boys pass and I feel them brush my ladder, and I think "Whew, good thing I stepped down." Then almost right away, I realized I didn't hear my music anymore and knew they swiped my phone! (I had stupidly put my phone on one of the middle rungs, because I was wearing leggings with no pockets). Right away I'm climbing down and his buddy sees me, so he yelled "hey, HEY, that kid stole your phone!" and pointed to his buddy who was running to the end of the block. The boy running was wearing a black shirt with the words "RESPECT" on the back. I'm like "Not today, you won't," and my out-of-shape ass chased after him around the corner, down a few more blocks, unsuccessfully until he disappeared between the narrow Chicago houses.

I jogged back to the daycare and asked the ladies to use their computer so I could track my phone with Google. I was NOT accepting that my phone was gone! All my clients, conversations, Pictures and videos, and more! After many unsuccessful attempts to get into my gmail account (because of the stupid text verification system) I was able to get into the Find My Phone part of Google, and I pin-pointed my phone to a park a few blocks away.

I drove over there and circled around and spotted one of the boys sitting on a bench looking through a phone; the one who warned me of the thief. I confronted him and he said the kid went back home and pointed a direction. I didn't believe him, so I asked him to come with me. He said no. I got their names; the "Respect" kid was Raphael and he was 12, and this kid's name was Marsean.(they are both black if you couldn't tell by now, I found out later that Marsean is 16)

Marsean told me Raphael went that direction---> So I drove around again with no luck, and then came back to the park and parked closer and saw them both. Raphael had been playing basketball with his shirt off, and I saw him putting on the RESPECT shirt as I was walking up. As soon as I got through the gate, I took off running toward him, but he saw me and took off and then jumped the fence. All while I was yelling "Grab that kid, he stole my phone an hour ago!" Everyone in the park just looked at me like dumbasses. Some older ladies felt sorry for me.

No luck, so I went back to talk to Marsean who was now up walking around with 2 other buddies after the commotion I created. I tried reasoning with him, confiding in him that I really just needed my phone back, and if he could get it back from his friend. He played me like he would try to find Raphael and get my phone back, and they headed in that direction. I followed closely behind because I knew they were full of shit. But Raphael was long gone and none of us knew where to go. I knew Marsean wasn't going to help me anyway, so I just continued walking towards the direction the kid ran off...

I walked another block and saw a police car, so I walked up to them carefully (waving in a friendly manner because I didn't want some other fucked up situation) and I described the kid and gave his name and told them what happened. The police said sounded like a kid who lives at a boy's home a block away. They said hop in and then drove me there, it was literally half a block away. (Hah, first time in the back of a police car, lol). I told them I didn't care to press charges, that I just wanted my phone back. They spoke to lady in charge and she said yes, Raphael was there. We all walked into the building, which was a foster home for DCFS kids, and Raphael was in the hallway with some of the counselors. I said "Yes! That's the kid!" I thought for sure this ordeal was over, but he swore he didn't have my phone, and that he was the decoy and that Marsean had it! And one of the counselors confirmed that Marsean was there earlier and he had left when she had tried to conviscate a phone from him a little while ago.

So I left with the cops and we drove back to the park and didn't see the other kid. We drove around a little more and they were going to drive me back to the daycare so I could do the "find my phone" again, when we finally see Marsean and his other buddies sitting at a bus stop! The cops drive around the building, through the alley and came back around and parked right in front of the kids. The cops got out and spoke to Marsean, and i see him opening the pockets of his backpack and playing like he didn't have it. Then one cop reaches and pats the boy's jeans pocket and the kid pulls out a phone. I didn't recognize it at first, cuz the kid ripped my case off, but the cop gave it to me and i realized it was mine! Thank you Chicago police for the help! No charges pressed, I just needed my phone back!

Then they drove me back to my car and we went our separate ways. As I'm driving back to the daycare, I see Marsean and his buddies walking back to the youth home. I yell out my car to them that he's bogus as fuck and that stealing won't get you anywhere.

I park back in front of the day care and plugged my phone into the charger to turn my phone on, I realize he had logged into his Facebook account on my phone, hah! So I had a little fun that evening, messing with his account for a little bit, lmfao.

I am actually still logged into his messenger, creeping on his conversations. I made him mad with the stuff I was posting, and I saw when he was talking to his mom that he wanted to "get me" for hacking into his account, lol. His dumbass still hasn't changed his password. So for my own protection, I'm watching his conversations for the next few weeks while I'm painting there. In case they decide to graffiti my mural, or something worse... But I'm not too worried, because 2 days later it seems all the kid is worried about is scoring pussy and weed.

I know their names and know where they live, so if anything does happen...